The Beginning of Winter
Left (Tie)
しものうへにふるはつゆきのあさごほりとけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
shimo no ue ni
furu hatsuyuki no
asagōri
tokemu hodo koso
hisashikarikeri | Upon the frost
Falls first snow turning
To ice with the morning;
The time ‘twill take to melt
Will be long, indeed. |
17
Right
かみなづきもみぢのいろはふくかぜとたにのみづとぞおとしはてつる
kaminazuki
momiji no iro wa
fuku kaze to
tani no mizu to zo
otoshihatetsuru | In the Godless Month
The scarlet leaves’ hue
With the gusting wind, and
The waters in the valley, do
Drop completely. |
Mitsune
18
Composed on early snow for a palace poetry contest held in Eishō 4 [1049].
みやこにもはつゆきふればをの山のまきのすみがまたきまさるらん
miyako ni mo
Fatuyuki Fureba
wonoyama no
maki no sumigama
takimasaruran | In the capital, too
When the first snow falls
Among Onoyama’s
Evergreens the charcoal kilns
Seem to smoulder more and more. |
Sagami
Winter
Round Eleven
Left
霜のうへにふる初雪の朝氷とけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
shimo no ue ni
furu hatsuyuki no
asagōri
tokemu hodo koso
hisashikarikere | Upon the frosts
Falls first snow, turning
Icy in the morning;
The time when it will melt is
Far away, indeed. |
20[1]
Right (Win)
いつのまにふりつもりけんみよしのの山のかひよりくづれ落つる雪
itsu no ma ni
furitsumoriken
miyoshino no
yama no kai yori
kuzure’otsuru yuki | All of a sudden
Has it fallen and piled high
In fair Yoshino
The mountain passes are
Blocked by fallen snow. |
21
[1] Kokin rokujō I: 696
First Snow 初雪
めもはるに花かとぞみるしもがれの草木もわかずふれる初皆
me mo haru ni
hana ka to zo miru
shimogare no
kusaki mo wakazu
fureru hatsuyuki | Before my eyes, do spring
In bloom I see?
Frost-burned
Trees and grasses both, I cannot tell
Beneath the first snow fallen. |
Daishin
First Snow 初雪
しもがれの草にやつるる故郷に今朝はつ雪のめづらしきかな
shimogare no
kusa ni yatsururu
furusato ni
kesa hatsuyuki no
mezurashiki kana | Frost-burned
Grasses wither round
This ancient hall, where
This morning falls the first snow –
How strange that is! |
Higo
First Snow 初雪
はつみ雪ふりにけらしなあらち山こしのたび人そりにのるまで
hatsumiyuki
furinikerashi na
arachiyama
koshi no tabibito
sori ni noru made | The first deep snows
Have fallen, it seems, so
Upon Arachi Mountain
The traversing traveller
Must ride upon a sleigh! |
Kanemasa
First Snow 初雪
冬きぬとききつるからにいちじるくいちしの原 にふれる白雪
fuyu kinu to
kikitsuru kara ni
ichijiruku
ichishi no hara ni
fureru shirayuki | Winter has come,
I have heard, and so
Remarkably
Upon the bramble fields
Has fallen the first snow. |
Tadafusa
First Snow 初雪
めづらしき花のみやこの初雪を九重にさへふらしてぞみる
mezurashiki
hana no miyako no
hatsuyuki o
kokonoe ni sae
furashite zo miru | Unusually,
On the flower that is the Capital
Has fallen the first snow –
The ninefold palace gates
Have summoned it, it seems! |
Toshiyori
First Snow 初雪
都人まづこはみせん山ざとの庭のこけぢにふれるはつ雪
miyakobito
mazu ko wa misen
yamazato no
niwa no kokeji ni
fureru hatsuyuki | To folk from the capital
First of all would I show
My mountain home’s
Mossy garden paths, where
The first snow has fallen. |
Nakazane
First Snow 初雪
さらぬだに人もとひこぬ山ざとにあやにくなれやけさの初雪
saranu dani
hito mo toikonu
yamazato ni
ayaniku nare ya
kesa no hatsuyuki | Of no account at all, and
Not visited by a single soul is
This mountain home, so
Is it unexpected that
The first snow falls here this morn? |
Akinaka
'Simply moving and elegant'